Blog Tour: Wyoming Rugged by Diana Palmer

Author: Diane Palmer

Publisher: Harlequin

Date of publication: Novemebr 2015

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Diana Palmer is back in Wyoming with a tale of love born in Big Sky Country…

Billionaire oilman Blair Coleman has always taken care of his business. After having been used and cast aside by a woman he thought he loved, his personal life is far from his first priority. He knows only one has ever truly cared for him—but the irresistible blonde beauty is the daughter of his best friend.

Niki Ashton has seen her father’s friend wounded and she’s seen him fight. Blair is the strongest—and most stubborn—man she’s ever known. That very heart and passion makes him the man of her dreams, but whenever they’ve been in danger of getting close, Blair has always pushed her away.

It takes a possible tragedy to strip away all of Blair’s misgivings. Now it’s all or nothing: marriage, baby, family, forever. But will the choice be too much for Niki…or too late?

I'm not even sure where to start with this book.  Wyoming Rugged is the 5th book in this series but first of the series I have read by this author.  I have pretty much had a cold/luke warm relationship with this author's writing.  This one was no exception.

The heroine, Niki,  is so unbelievably naive and innocent. She lives on a cattle ranch, yet she has almost no knowledge of how sex works. I found that hard to buy.  In this day and age, that level of innocence for a 23 YO doesn't wash. Sheltered or not, with social media these days, she had to know something. I was also disappointed in how helpless she came across, like she needed a man to take care of her. Our hero, Blair, was an egotistical jerk, who kept playing with Niki's emotions. The way he talked to Niki made me feel icky at times.  He almost treated her like his child. Normally, a 16 year age difference wouldn't bother me, but in this case it did.

I'm not sure what compelled me to read the book all the way to the end.  Maybe I was hoping that it would get better?  It is a quick read, so I think fans will probably want to pick it up.  I, however, can't recommend it.  The writing is antiquated.  It takes place in 2015. But aside from occasional pop culture references to current movies and technology, I would have thought the book was written in the 1950s. Had it been SET in the 50s or even earlier, I might have bought into it a lot more. I wish I could recommend this one, but I just can't.  I'm pretty sure after reading this book, I am done with this author.

About Diana Palmer

An icon in western romance, Diana Palmer has been writing with Harlequin since 1980 and has published over 180 titles, with over 61 million books sold! When not writing, Susan’s hobbies are gardening, knitting, crocheting, astronomy, archaeology and animals. She also has dogs, cats, birds and lizards.

Learn more about Diana at her website,DianaPalmer.com.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Diana Palmer’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, November 16th: Life is Story

Tuesday, November 17th: Mignon Mykel Reviews

Wednesday, November 18th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Thursday, November 19th: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

Friday, November 20th: Disheveled Book Blog

Monday, November 23rd: Books a la Mode – excerpt and giveaway

Monday, November 23rd: Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous

Tuesday, November 24th: Majorly Delicious

Wednesday, November 25th: Book Reviews & More by Kathy

Friday, November 27th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Monday, November 30th: Read Love Blog

Tuesday, December 1st: Hot Guys in Books

Wednesday, December 2nd: From the TBR Pile

Wednesday, December 2nd: Romancing the Book

Thursday, December 3rd: Griperang’s Bookmarks

Friday, December 4th: Written Love Reviews

Monday, December 7th: What I’m Reading

Tuesday, December 8th: Romantic Reads and Such

Wednesday, December 9th: Home Love Books

Monday, December 14th: Cowboys ‘n Country

TBD: Romancing the Readers

Books We Didn't Finish September Edition

Courageous (Harlequin, June 2012)... what can I say?  I usually read about 50 pages or at least 2 CDs before I give up on a book.  I lasted only half of the first disc. First, Peg, the 19-YO, naive heroine states that she is different from her friends because she doesn't believe in sex before marriage. Then she proceeds to say really suggestive things to the Winslow (the hero). Things like: "I hear they have birth control now that is 100% effective." and "It's not the size that matters; it's what you do with it that counts." Really? A few pages later, he tells her she should be in college and could major in Home Ec.  Um...do they even offer that in college anymore?  He is also scandalized that they allow coed dorms now.  Anyway, I could see this book was going the way of Merciless (which I disliked) so I decided to stop.  The book seems incredibly out-dated for having been written in 2012.When the setting is 2012, I want the characters to act like they are in 2012.

I really tried to get into The Vanishers (Doubleday, March 2012).  I started the audiobook 3 times.  On the last try, I finished the first CD and I realized I had no idea what was going on or what the author was talking about.  I was never able to orient myself to the world the author was trying to create.  I may at some point try to finish the book, but with so many books on my TBR Pile, it won't be anytime soon. It is too bad, because the synopsis seemed so interesting.  Maybe if the book had more of a background set up in the beginning, I would have been able to get into it more. 

I picked Bone Machines by John Dodds as an audiobook selection from the library.  It seemed like my kind of book.  It's about a serial killer in Glasgow.  The killer is an artist not only in his killing, but also in what he does with the bodies after death.  Sounds like a twistedly good book right?  I think my biggest problem with this audiobook was that it was narrated by Robin Sachs and he does all the Jo Nesbo books.  The two are linked in my head.  So his voice attached to something else wasn't really working for me.  I keep getting confused with the characters and who was who and who was the bad guy.  It just wasn't working for me so I moved on to something else.  

Series Week TT edition: Long Tall Texans I by Diana Palmer

These 3 are the first in the Long Tall Texans series by Diana Palmer.  Before I delve into each book on its own, I have a couple of comments.  The books did seem dated to me.  Especially with the clothing descriptions as well as the way the women are treated in the books.  I wasn't surprised it was written in the 80s.  The other comment is that I seem to be finding a running trend in Ms. Palmer's books.  Every woman is a naive virgin.  What's up with that?  OK onto the books:

First up:

Calhoun

First published in 1988 by Harlequin

SWEET DARLIN' 

Although Calhoun Ballenger had raised Abby since childhood, she was now nearly twenty-one years old. How dare he keep her under his thumb, protected like a hothouse flower! Abby had to teach Calhoun a lesson. With the fury of a South Texas twister, she devised a plan to prove her independence - and capture his attention. 

But Abby's scheme backfired. She wasn't like the diamond-studded sophisticates Calhoun chose as his companions. She was just a simple country girl who craved the love of a good, strong man. How could she make Cal see that his young charge had blossomed into a rose...and was now ripe for the picking?

For the most part, I liked this one.  Calhoun and Abby have known each other for a while and so I did believe their feelings in this one.  Abby has been in love with Calhoun for a while, but he still sees her as a little girl.  I could understand Calhoun's reluctance at first to enter into any type of relationship with the woman who has been his "ward" for the past 5 years.  Even though Abby is extremely naive and inexperienced, I ended up liking her in the end.  She seemed to find her voice and became a stronger person.  I had a hard time with the "virginal" blush and shock at an "intimate kiss" thing but I guess if you have been sheltered for so long, you wouldn't know what to do either. In all not a bad start. 

Next: 

Justin

First Published in 1988 by Harlequin

SWEET DREAMS... 

Sweet dreams had been all that lovely Shelby Jacobs had ever given Justin Ballenger. He'd loved her, wanted to marry her....and his sweet dreams had blown away. A Ballenger wasn't good enough for Shelby...she'd broken their engagement and flaunted her rich society lover in Justin's face. He vowed never again to be vulnerable to his beautiful Texas rose. 

Shelby had never stopped loving dark, intense Justin, and seeing him only deepened her feelings. She was sure he despised her, but she knew he needed to hear the truth about the past. She was risking everything, but the heart of her lonesome cowboy was more than worth it...

This one was a bit better than the first one, but not by much.  Justin and Shelby have a past.  They are still in love but both refuse to let the past go and move on.  I thought that Justin was a jerk through pretty much the whole book.  Even when she had proof that she didn't lie about what happened to break them up, he still didn't trust her.  I didn't blame her in the least for leaving him.  Although, I probably would have done it a lot sooner. I also probably would have made him grovel a little more, but that is me.  I liked their HEA though.  It was nice to see two loves find their way back to each other.  

Last, but not least:

Taylor

First Published in 1988 by Harlequin

SWEET-TALKIN' TEXAN 


With only a quick glance at Nell Regan, a man might miss the beauty in the shy face, or the sexy figure hidden beneath the shapeless clothes. Nell had learned the hard way the she had nothing to offer a man. Her future was here, running her Arizona dude ranch...alone. 


Then Tyler Jacobs arrived...a man who knew what it was like to be alone and alienated. He yearned to kiss away the pain he saw in Nell s deep brown eyes. 


But Nell wasn't about to mistake kindness for love. Not again. Yet would denying her own desire destroy her one chance for happiness.

This one ended up being a did not finish for me.  It was just too ridiculous or maybe I had had enough of women who get to their 20s and know NOTHING about even kissing a man.  Really? I know it was written in the 80s but, come on.  Did a woman like Nell really exist in the 80s?  It was something I just couldn't get past so I didn't really feel the relationship between Tyler and Nell.   I'm this close to calling it quits with this series.  If they are all like this, it could get a little tiring.

Merciless by Diana Palmer

Author: Diana Palmer

Publisher: Harlequin

Date of Publication: July 2011

Can she convince a man to let down his defenses when he's set on guarding his heart?
"Tall, dark and eligible?"

That's all that matters to the women of Jacobsville when it comes to handsome and aloof FBI agent Jon Blackhawk. But if it were up to him, he would never settle down. Luckily, Jon has the best gatekeeper: his efficient and reliable assistant, Joceline Perry. Without her help, he'd be at the mercy of husband hunters--but the more he comes to rely on her, the more he notices how invaluable she really is... 

While Joceline can't deny that her boss is attractive, as a single mother with responsibilities she's determined to be professional. But when Jon is accosted by a criminal seeking revenge, she comes to his aid--fueling the spark that is growing between them. 

As the attempts on Jon's life increase, Joceline stands by his side. But when the smoke clears, will the man who avoided love realize that all he ever needed was right there all along?


Let me first say to publishers out there, PLEASE start telling us readers when a book is part of a series.  This book was not clearly not a stand alone novel.  There were so many references to books that came before this one that it was hard to follow it at times.  There were also too many characters and it was hard to keep them straight. I didn't even have a hope of figuring out any of the mystery because I felt like I was missing too much back story.  But I digress...

Honestly, I'm not sure why I finished this book.  I have never read a book by this author before, so I thought I would try it out.  When it was finished, all I could think was how bad it was.  I think I rolled my eyes after every chapter. How bad was this book?  Let me count the ways.  The heroine, Joceline, has a son and the father is not in the picture. The book was written in 2011.  After having numerous characters mention that she has a child out of *gasp* wedlock, I had to check back to make sure this wasn't a re-issue.  Really?  Do people really care in this day and age? I was surprised that this was such a huge issue in a book written in this time period. The identity of the father was so obvious from the start that I can't understand why he didn't figure it out along with the rest of the world.  Talk about clueless. The way he figured it out was very giggle worthy because it was so ridiculous.

I really feel like this one could have been a short story.  There were so many unnecessary and boring conversations that they started to feel like filler to make the book longer.  Most of them did nothing to advance the mystery or love story and really should have been edited out. That also includes all of the pop culture references.  Nothing ages a book more than references to popular games or TV shows of the time in which the book is written.  In my opinion, this makes it harder for it to survive the test of time. Also, the characters kept adding in small facts about things during "casual" conversations.  They started to sound like walking encyclopedias.  Who does that?

Let us not forget the characters.  I think Markey (the son who is 4, yet acts and sounds like he is 10) was the only one who really had any personality.  The mother, Cammie, was such a witch.  Her hatred for Joceline was way over the top.  When it is finally revealed why she felt this way toward Joceline, I was puzzled.  I felt the reason should make her more sympathetic and understanding toward Joceline. Also, I had a hard time believing that a federal agent would allow his own mother to verbally abuse his administrative assistant.  Especially when, later in the book, John and Jocelyn have a conversation about bullying. Isn't that just what his mother is doing to her? John was just way too passive for my taste.  He wasn't even a beta male in my eyes. 

I think I should stop my rant now.  Trust me, I could go on and on.  I always try to find something positive in a book.  So, I will say that the twist at the end was a nice touch. Also, some of the banter between the Hero and Heroine was amusing.  It just wasn't enough to save the book for me. Will I read another by her?  Probably, but I think I'll start back at the beginning.  30+ (?) books back! *sigh*